Always Have, Always Will
by mywordsareyours
Summary: And even in the darkest of skies, the stars will still shine. Nick & Miley.


The candlelight made shadows flicker across the wall, giving the room a warm, cozy feeling. But then again, maybe it wasn't the candles. Maybe it was the fact that she was standing there in his clothes. And he always made her feel safe, protected, loved.

She leaned towards the mirror and wiped at her tired blue eyes. Her hands then went to the messy bun holding up her hair and pulled the tie free. Her clothes were quickly discarded from her body; his shirt the last thing to go so she could breathe him in one last time.

Her nimble body crossed the room and submerged itself in the bathtub. As she came up for air, she pressed the back of her head against the lip of the tub. Immediately, her thoughts were drawn back to him. And just as quickly, her heart began to ache. She spent so many days and nights wishing she could go back to when she met him. How she wished she could somehow stop herself from walking through that door.

"_Just go in, grab a bottle, and get out. It's not a big deal."_

"_I know," she mumbles into the receiver, "but what if they catch me? What if they take a look at the picture—"_

"_Don't bitch out. Do it. Then call me when you're back at your place."_

_There's a click and she knows that the conversation is over. There isn't really a point in arguing anyway. She's going to lose. She has no option but to get it done with._

_The black Converse on her feet feel more like fifty pound bricks as she walks into the liquor store. It's not a big deal, she reminds herself. Just grab a bottle and get out. You can do this._

"_Excuse me."_

_She steps back, only to have someone bump into her shoulder. "Hey," she cries. "Watch it."_

"_I said, excuse me," the boy replies. _

_She realizes she's never seen him before. Not that she would have. She drove to the town over, hoping to be spared the embarrassment if she got caught. But she's curious now. She looks him over, studying the chocolate ringlets atop his head that are almost the exact same shade as his eyes. He's taller than her, although not by much. She notes his broad shoulders, and how she can barely make out the traces of his muscles underneath the white V-neck he has on. And by the time her eyes trail up again, she finds his own piercing hers. _

"_That usually means you should look out," he finishes._

"_Well, I didn't realize you were two inches away from me."_

"_I wasn't."_

"_You were."_

_He licks his lips, relaxing only slightly. "How old are you?"_

"_Eighteen."_

"_Then what are you doing in here?"_

_Her mouth falls open. Dammit. Here she is trying to buy some alcohol, and she gives herself away. Her friends will never let her live this down._

"_How old are you?" she retorts._

"_Eighteen."_

"_So you shouldn't be here either!"_

_The corners of his mouth pull up enough to reveal a smile. "I know, but I'm the only one of my friends with an older sibling who they can actually pass for." She watches as he reaches into his wallet, pulling out a driver's license. "I kind of borrowed this from my brother."_

"_You don't have straight hair," she comments._

"_I know."_

"_And you're not that tan."_

"_I know."_

"_And your eyes are darker."_

"_I know."_

"_Then how do you expect to get away with this?"_

"_I was just going to ask you the same thing," he replies with a quick nod to the license she's holding. "You don't have blonde hair."_

"_My sister has highlights," she hisses. "I was going to say that I grew them out."_

_He chuckles. "They're not gonna care. They don't wanna hear a whole story. They'll just sell it to you."_

"_They…will?"_

"_Yeah. I mean, they might give you a hard time…but whatever. I'm guessing this is your first time."_

"_Mhm. I'm supposed to bring something to my friend's house."_

"_Me too. One of my friends is having a party tonight. Except I kinda don't feel like going anymore," he says, placing the case of beer back on the shelf. "I kinda wanna go see a movie."_

"_So you'd rather go to a movie by yourself than hang out with your friends?"_

"_Well, I don't have to go by myself."_

_She watches him rock nervously on his heels; his eyes still on hers. "Are you asking me out?"_

"_Are you going to say yes?"_

"_No."_

"_Then no, I'm not asking you out. But…um…I'm Nick, anyway," he says, extending his hand. "And you are?"_

"_Late." _

_Grabbing a bottle off the rack, she slips past him and over to the register. Ridiculous, she thinks to herself. I've been hit on at school. At clubs. Even at gas stations. But in a liquor store by someone who's too young to even be in here? Ridiculous._

_Even though she's too young to be here, too._

_As she's called up, she's vaguely aware of him leaving through the front door. But then she's completely aware. She spent five minutes tops with this guy, and she's already wondering if she'll ever see him again._

_So she leaves the bottle of wine on the counter and heads after him. "Miley," she calls out right before he gets into his car. "I'm Miley. And I'd really like to see a movie tonight."_

It was the most reckless thing she'd ever done, until then at least. Not once had she chased after a guy. It was always the other way around. She didn't regret it though. Even as she lay there in the tub, she didn't.

Their relationship was a whirlwind romance. Their weekly dates turned into daily rendezvous. It wasn't long before they were exclusive. Her friends didn't understand. How could she fall for this stranger from the town over? Someone she barely even knew? It didn't bother her though. She didn't need anyone else anyway. With him, Miley felt that she had everything. And she knew that he felt the exact same way.

"_I'm going to puke."_

_Laughing, he pushes the bowl of chocolate away from her. "I told you not to eat too much of it."_

"_I can't help it."_

_Nick's high school held a dance every year in celebration of Valentine's Day. As his girlfriend, Miley wasn't surprised when he asked her to go with him. They didn't really go out all that much with other people their age, skipping out on group dates to spend the night together instead. But it was senior year, and she knew it meant a lot to him to go._

"_We can leave if you feel sick."_

"_I'm fine. Really."_

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Good, because I like having you here. I think the other guys are jealous that I'm with the prettiest girl in the room."_

"_Oh. Which ones? Maybe I'll go flirt with them."_

_He rolls his eyes before reaching over the table, untying a heart-shaped balloon from the centerpiece. "But then I'll be jealous."_

"_I know."_

"_So don't do that."_

"_But it'll be funny."_

"_But I love you."_

_No boy had ever said those words to her before. She's surprised to even hear them from him. "You do?"_

_Nodding, he wraps the balloon string around her wrist, knotting it over her skin. "I'm giving you my heart. I'm trusting you to take care of it."_

_She feels tears well up, knowing that the moment's so much more special than any onlooker would be able to guess. "I will. You know I will." Her hand slips behind his neck, pulling his mouth to hers. "I love you."_

Winter turned to spring. Their lives suddenly revolved around the last few months of school. Studying for finals. Preparing for prom. Planning for graduation and all the parties that come along with it. They were spending more time apart, and Miley couldn't help but wonder how much more everything would change once they headed their separate ways in the fall.

_She sighs as his arms wrap tighter around her, sheltering her from the cool breeze off the coast. "We're going to be fine," she says out loud, if only to convince herself._

"_Of course, we are. We'll be exactly the same as we are now."_

"_I'm not too sure about that."_

"_I mean, we'll be a little different, but we'll still have each other. We'll still love each other."_

"_Do you promise?"_

"_I promise."_

_She tips her head against his shoulder. "I'm just scared. We've never been separated for more than a few days. It's going to be weird not seeing you for months."_

"_I won't be that far away." He reaches past her, pointing out the city lights across the water. "I'll be right there."_

"_That's too far."_

"_You know what we can do then? We'll have date nights. I'll sit on the beach on that side, and you'll sit over here. And it won't be too bad then. We'll be under the exact same stars."_

"_Maybe we can get binoculars or something."_

"_And flashlights so we can communicate using Morse code."_

_She laughs. "Or we could just call each other and have a real conversation."_

"_Yeah, that'll work, too," he replies, nuzzling against her soft skin. "Besides, I'll be home in November. Then we'll be together again, just like this."_

They tried to make the best out of summer. Nick took her fishing out on his dad's boat. She'd invite him to go swimming in her pool. They took bike rides around town. Whether they would spend the day at the park or the night watching a firework show, they were inseparable.

But the impending future loomed over them. They were still new to love. And even though they were both convinced of their feelings for the other, fear continued to build the closer they got to September. It was worse for Miley. He would be going off, meeting new people and living in a completely different city. She would be stuck here, attending the local community college and waitressing after classes. She wondered if she'd continue to be enough for him, or if he'd move on to someone else.

She was going crazy, and it was driving _him_ crazy to see her like that. He could feel her trying to push him away. And, one night, she was almost successful.

"_Don't. Please don't come near me."_

"_Miley, listen to me—"_

"_Leave me alone."_

_He lifts his hands in surrender. "Okay," he murmurs, stopping in the middle of the lawn. "I'll stay right here. Just talk to me."_

"_I don't want to. Go away."_

"_I'm not walking away when you're upset."_

"_I'm upset because you're here. If you'd go, I'd be fine."_

"_That's not true."_

"_It is," she cries from the porch. "Just go to your stupid college and to your stupid music program. See if I care. I'm better off without you."_

"_Well, I'm better off with you, so we kinda have a dilemma here."_

"_Find someone else."_

"_I can't. I'm in love with you."_

_Her defenses falter in the slightest at his confession. "Please go. Please don't make me wait around for you."_

"_Miley, I'd never make you do anything. I thought you wanted to make this work."_

"_I did, but I can't. I tried to convince myself that I could handle it, but I can't."_

"_I'll wait for you."_

"_I don't want you to. I'll only be holding you back."_

"_No, you won't."_

"_Nick, please."_

"_Fine," he whispers. "If you want me to leave, just say it. Say the word, and I'll get in my car and drive off. But know that I'll be thinking of you every second we're apart."_

_The walls she's built up against him crumble. She runs across the yard and dives into his arms, wondering how she almost let him walk away from her again._

She slipped deeper in the water as the memory flashed through her mind. If only she knew…. She would've cherished every moment with him. No stupid fights or pointless arguments. She'd just love him.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she remembered their first time together. He'd taken her out to a seafood shack over by the pier. Her parents were out of town, so she invited him inside to watch some television. But something happened once they were alone in her bedroom. It was like a spark had ignited into something so palpable that they could both feel it.

They undressed each other with the utmost care. He eased her onto the bed, hovering over her. His hands were shaking as he struggled to open the condom wrapper. She tried to lighten the mood by making him laugh, and he teased her on how she'd be the only person who'd make a joke in that kind of situation.

_His mouth claims hers as he pushes into her. She does her best not to cry out, letting her nails dig into his skin each time their bodies mesh together. And while he tries to stop, she refuses to let him. So he does his best to calm her, whispering how much he loves her and how he'll never feel for someone else what he feels for her._

_She thinks her heart might explode with happiness._

_When it's over, he rests his body against hers, unable to pull himself away from her just yet. She runs her fingers through his damp curls, soothing him as he continues to pant in her ear. Miley can't help but smile as her eyes land on her blue dress, now a crumpled heap on the floor. She bought it hoping that it'd be for a special occasion. She just didn't know how special it'd be._

"_I love you," she tells him. "No matter what happens."_

"_Don't say that."_

"_What?"_

"_No matter what happens."_

"_But you don't know."_

_He presses his forehead to hers, the contact enough to make her eyes meet his. "We'll be together forever," he promises._

And the worst part was that she actually believed him.

Her heart broke when he left her. Miley never knew it was possible to hurt as much as she did. She locked herself up in her room and cried for days. For weeks. For forever it felt like to her.

She was given space at first. But then her mother began to worry. She encouraged her to get out of the house. She couldn't do it. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make herself go.

With one last breath, she immersed herself beneath the surface. For so long, she's thought that taking her life would be easier. Anything would be easier than living like this. She hated herself for becoming so dependent on him, but she loved him so much more.

It was that single thought of him that forced her to breathe again. Getting up, she stopped only to allow the water to drain and to blow out the candles before pulling on a robe and heading for her closet. She paired one of his V-necks with her jeans, tucking the hems of them into her boots. With her coat and her keys, she left the house without a word.

She took the ten minute drive down to the beach. Parked in the abandoned lot, she ran her hands over the wheel. And as she looked out to the waves, she was suddenly panic-stricken. What was she thinking coming here? It was a mistake. Such a huge mistake.

So she tried to leave. Turning the key in the ignition, she tried to get the car running. But the engine failed. And again. And again. She was stuck. Now she had no choice but to get out.

Slipping off her shoes, Miley began the long walk to the shore. She kept her head up as best as she could, staring off at the city lights in the distance. He was supposed to be coming home today. They should've been there together.

_Humming softly, she stirs the pasta as the water continues to boil. It's a good day. In exactly one month, Nick will be on break. He'll be home for a full five days. Five days that they're going to spend attached to the other's hip._

_As if on cue, her phone rings. A grin lights up her face as she answers the call, not even bothering to look at the screen. "Hey, baby," she coos, "I was just thinking about—"_

"_Miley."_

_Her brow furrows. "Joe?"_

"_Yeah, Miley…just…Miley, I…."_

"_What's wrong? Joe, what's wrong with Nick?"_

_His voice cracks. "There's been an accident."_

_Her back hits the wall. She can feel her legs give out beneath her until she's left curled up on the tile, sobbing along with his brother._

_He's gone._

_And he's not coming back._

Rage coursed through her veins as she heaved rock after rock into the water. "You promised forever," she cried. "You said you'd never leave me. You said things wouldn't change!"

But he lied. He left her all alone. She was broken, shattered into a million pieces that could never be put back together again.

Her body continued to tremble as she sobbed. "I thought you loved me."

Unable to control herself any longer, Miley collapsed onto the sand. She looked up at the night sky and let the tears continue to fall down her face. Somehow, the stars seemed to shine even brighter through her blurred vision.

_We'll be under the exact same stars._

She could hear his voice perfectly as if he was right there beside her. And maybe he was. Maybe he was there the entire time.

"I still love you," she murmured. "I'll always love you."

She shut her eyes, picturing his face clear as day. In that moment, she felt closer to him than she had in so long. She couldn't even bring herself to move, afraid that she'd lose him all over again. So she stayed and breathed him in as the sound of the ocean played over and over in her mind until nothing felt real anymore.


End file.
